Its current path would lead it to the Florida Keys late tonight or early tomorrow morning, prompting officials to tell residents of that area to evacuate.

Yet, despite President Bush declaring a state of emergency for Florida, there was no mad dash by locals yesterday to get out of Dodge.

“Yes, there’s always a certain number of people who won’t evacuate no matter what,” said Hugh Gladwin, director of the Institute of Public Opinion Research at Florida International University. “They’re fatalistic. They like being in hurricanes.”

The US naval base at Guantanamo Bay in southeast Cuba was braced for the impending storm, ordering all ferries secured and beaches off-limits.

As Ike wreaked havoc hundreds of miles away, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a state of emergency, even though the Category 3 storm won’t hit New Orleans until Friday.

The Big Easy narrowly avoided catastrophic damage last week when Hurricane Gustav rumbled through the Pelican State after 2 million people evacuated from southeast Louisiana